


Just Fudge The Numbers

by MandoKain



Series: Aliit [4]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: CT-7567 | Rex Needs a Hug, Gen, LET BROTHERS SHOW AFFECTION, Rex Clicked with Ahsoka and I will die on this hill, bros leaving is hard, the Click
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-10
Updated: 2019-08-10
Packaged: 2020-08-14 11:40:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 969
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20191678
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MandoKain/pseuds/MandoKain
Summary: Fives breaks the news. Rex explains some things.This is where things get canon divergent; this is an AU where, after Umbara, a just-starting Panther Squad runs into the 501st, and Fives, after discussion with Rex, joins them. (I couldn’t leave him to die, okay? I love Fives.)





	Just Fudge The Numbers

When he heard the knock, it didn’t surprise him. “Come in,” Rex called. He wasn’t surprised by the face he saw either, eel-adorned helmet tucked under one arm and expression drawn in. The door closed behind.

“Captain, I need to talk to you,” Fives said quietly. Rex winced internally. Fives didn’t usually call him captain when no one else was around. It was as serious as he’d suspected.

“You’re going with the Twi’lek, then.” Fives opened his mouth and then closed it again before nodding mutely. Rex gestured for Fives to take a seat. The ARC moved in the cautious way of a man who isn’t sure the ground under his feet is quite solid, before carefully sitting on the unmade bed. Fives set his helmet down beside him, and was still gazing at it when Rex sat on his other side.

“If I don’t, I’ll regret it. We’ll both regret it.” Rex nodded and put a hand on Fives’ back. “How did you know?”

“You think I don’t know a Click when I see one, Fives?” Rex asked gently. “Trust me. I know it well.”

“A Click?”

“You met Cain for a few minutes at most before you knew you were going to go with them. That moment of knowledge, when you decide that this one’s yours, that’s the Click.” Fives looked up at his older brother.

“I’ve never seen it. Or felt it before.”

“It’s not something that always happens,” Rex shrugged. “Cody Clicked with Kenobi, Wolffe Clicked with General Plo. Pretty sure Feedback Clicked with Tak almost immediately, that whole company did.”

“I’m noticing you’re not on that list,” Fives said quietly. He raised an eyebrow. “You didn’t Click with Skywalker, did you.”

“I’m loyal to Skywalker,” Rex sighed, “but no, I didn’t Click with him.” Fives waited, still watching him. The Captain gave a soft laugh.“Ahsoka.”

“Really?”

“She’s my vod’ika. If I were going to leave...”

“It would be for Tano, not Skywalker.”

“Exactly. But she’s his Padawan, she’s not going anywhere. So I’m not going anywhere. The only reason she’d leave and I’d stay would be vode.” Rex leaned back on his hands. Fives nodded slightly.

“So you knew when I Clicked with Cain. Why aren’t you trying to stop me leaving?” It was desertion. Fives leaving with Cain would be desertion, and they both knew it. If caught, it meant court martial and the most severe punishment. But Rex had come to an understanding of desertion a long time ago.

“Because when you Click, they’re family. Someone you Click with is a vod, plain and simple. Besides, you’re an unstable element in the Company,” he added, a hint of a smirk on his face.

“My leg still hurts from that.”

“Come off it, that was weeks ago.”

Fives’ face split in a grin. “Yeah, all right.”

Rex smiled back and pulled his younger brother into a tight hug. “You’ll be all right with Cain’s crew. Something tells me this won’t be the last time I see you, either.”

“I wouldn’t let that be the case,” Fives promised. “You’re my ori’vod, Rex. You’re my captain, you made me an ARC. I’ll find a way to contact you, even if it takes a while to figure out a safe way.” They drew back, and Fives face fell serious again. “What’re you going to tell the general if he asks?”

“That this operation was more dangerous than we thought. Your reckless, self-sacrificing shebs disobeyed orders and saved the lives of the rest of the squad, at the cost of your own. That without you,” Rex said seriously, reaching and squeezing his hand, “I wouldn’t be here.”

The ARC’s eventual nod was slow, understanding the depth of that statement. He and Rex had saved each other’s lives enough times that they couldn’t keep track, that much was true. The story Rex was weaving, of what had ‘happened’ to him, was a mix of Hevy’s, Echo’s, and Fives’ stories. Rex knew, and Fives knew, that the best way to honor fallen brothers was to live on and keep fighting. Fives’ best chance of that was to get out, find a family, and keep going.

“If there’s anything you need to know, I will find a way to tell you.”

“If you find anything?” Rex raised an eyebrow.

“The army doesn’t catch everything.” He shrugged. “And if I was going to pass it to anyone, it would be you.”

“That is fair, I guess.” Rex sighed softly. “I’ll miss you.”

“Don’t cry,” Fives told him, smiling.

“Oh, I couldn’t.” Rex rolled his eyes and punched him lightly in the arm.

“I’ll miss you too, vod,” Fives promised. “You wanna keep my helmet?”

“Nah, too obvious. Gimme the marker from your armor instead. Easier to hide.” And it made more sense. Fives nodded, carefully taking it off and giving it to Rex.

“Don’t lose that.”

“I won’t,” Rex promised. “Are you packed?”

“Not much to pack, but yes.” Fives sighed. “I need to go see the rest of the squad. They... yeah. Make sure they know the cover story, all that.”

“Keep a low profile,” Rex advised him, “don’t try to call for a couple of weeks. Just to be safe.”

“Understood, Captain.” Fives hesitated. “I... hope I fit in.”

“You will. Anyone who’s Clicked with Cain will be good with you. That’s usually how it works.” Fives nodded at his older brother’s words before standing. Rex stood too, giving him one more brief hug. “Now go tell the others. They deserve to know.”

“They do. I’ll see you... at some point.”

“You will.” Rex nudged him toward the door. Fives nodded and left, back straightening as he went. Rex waited until he had been gone for a few minutes before he let himself sit down and properly cry.

**Author's Note:**

> It’s okay Rex! You’ll see him again, and he won’t even die! (Yes, I fixed that too.)


End file.
